Obsession in Upper Dicker

A strange story of love and madness in the Sussex countryside

Upper Dicker, a quiet village hidden among the rolling hills of Wealden, seems an unlikely place for a tale of obsession and madness. But in the early 19th century, a wealthy landowner by the name of George Mott became fixated on a local woman named Mary Parsons. Despite her repeated rejection of his advances, Mott persisted in his pursuit of her, going so far as to build a grand mansion on the outskirts of the village in the hope of winning her over.

However, as time passed and Mary remained resolutely uninterested, Mott's obsession with her began to consume him. He withdrew from society, spending all his time and money on the mansion, which he filled with portraits and statues of Mary. He even went so far as to commission a life-size wax effigy of her, which he kept in an upstairs room and spoke to as if it were alive.

Despite his increasingly erratic behaviour, Mott remained a respected member of the community, and no one dared to confront him about his strange obsession. It was only after his death, when the mansion was opened to the public as a museum, that the full extent of his madness was revealed. Visitors to the mansion reported a feeling of unease in the presence of Mott's wax effigy, which remained intact until the early 20th century.

Today, the mansion has long since fallen into disrepair, and the story of George Mott and his obsession with Mary Parsons has faded into local legend. But some say that on quiet nights, when the wind blows just right, you can still hear Mott's ghost whispering sweet nothings to the wax effigy that was once his greatest love.